Throughout a 162-game season there are short games and long games; this was one of the long ones. A long game in September for a team well out of the playoff race can be boring to say the least. Despite this showdown with the Indians’ more boring qualities, it provided plenty of encouragement for the near future.
1. Miguel Gonzalez threw a great game, as he has done for most of the season. He gave up three runs in the second inning thanks to some odd plays in the outfield by both Adam Eaton and Melky Cabrera. After the rough second inning, he posted a clean sheet in the next 4.2 innings before being pulled with two outs in the seventh.
2. Jose Abreu drove in Eaton with a groundout in the first inning for his 91st RBI of the season. In the third, he notched RBI No. 92 on a double that reached the left field wall that brought home Tim Anderson. Despite it seeming near impossible at the beginning of August, Abreu has an ever so slight chance of reaching 30 home runs and 100 RBI for the third-straight season, with the latter looking inevitable and the former benchmark looking unlikely.
3. One of the main reasons to watch the Sox in September is seeing young players like Anderson and Carlos Rodon grow with each passing game. Anderson had himself quite a night, collecting three hits and an RBI on a single the fourth inning that ended up being the winning run. He’s hitting .286/.305/.420 while showing good defense at shortstop, which bodes well for whatever the White Sox’ future holds.
4. As a whole, the White Sox offense exploded for 11 runs against seven different Indians pitchers. With multi-hit nights from Eaton, Abreu, Anderson, Avisail Garcia, Tyler Saladino and Todd Frazier, the Sox were able to score at least one run in each of the eight innings they hit in. This was only the second time in franchise history that the White Sox have scored once in every inning, and it was the first since 1949. For an offense that has failed against even the worst pitchers, that’s quite a feat. Frazier, Eaton, and Garcia all hit home runs. Frazier’s homer in the eighth, a two-run blast to left-center, was his 36th of the season, putting him sixth in all of baseball in the category.
5. Zack Burdi, who the White Sox drafted 26th overall in this June’s draft, made an appearance in the broadcast booth for an interview with Benetti and Stone. Burdi talked about his high velocity, citing the memory of reaching 100 mph for the first time at Clemson on a pitch well out of the zone. He also commented on the changes that he’s made since joining the White Sox organization. Over time and many different levels, he made slight adjustments that paid dividends for both his command of pitches and overall physical well-being. He wasn’t shocked that he wasn’t added to the September roster simply because of how many innings he had pitched at many different levels throughout the year. Hearing Burdi’s comments about the way the organization handled him only instilled more confidence in the White Sox’ ability to develop young pitchers.
Team Record: 69-74
Next game is Tuesday at 7:10pm CT vs. Cleveland on CSN.
Lead Image Credit: Patrick Gorski // USA Today Sports Images